Thanks for the comments, everyone. So far, with a sharp blade and being careful, I've had no issues with the balsa...yet! I have built lots of small rubber powered stick and tissue planes so maybe that's helping. I'm at least familiar with how the wood behaves.
Itty-Bitty Update...that took about 2 hours to complete!
I got the rudder bar and joy stick components all rolled and added. I made two turnbuckle-like parts and put them on the rudder bar. I'll put cables on them next and fish them under the seat. Not the best picture, but I hope you get the idea.
More soon,
Dan